Rebecca Burton, 43, of Manchester, Conn., says she was inside the restaurant when her sign, which said, "Occupy Hartford,'' was pulled away by a security aide for Gingrich. The candidate had not yet entered the room when the incident occurred.

"Before I knew it, the sign was ripped out of my hands, and I saw a gentleman walking away with it,'' Burton said in an interview with The Courant. "He pushed me roughly, and he said, 'Get out. We don't want you here.'''

Tensions had been high in the area as anti-Gingrich protesters from the Occupy movement had gathered outside the restaurant. They chanted anti-Gingrich slogans as one of the members banged a drum.

The police presence was noticeable as officers watched the group outside the restaurant, which is across the parking lot from President Obama's New Hampshire headquarters. Some of those who had been working inside the Obama headquarters came to the restaurant Sunday when they heard that Gingrich was making a campaign stop.

Burton, a self-employed small business owner, said she filed a complaint with police about the incident.

"I refused to leave until something was done,'' she said. "He grabbed me and shoved me with absolutely no provocation. I said I wanted an apology. … It was completely out of the blue. I had my back to him.''

Burton had returned to Connecticut by Sunday night, and she knows that she will need to return to New Hampshire if she wants to pursue the case. She said she did not consider herself injured, and she never got the man's name.

"No, I was not injured,'' Burton said. "I was assaulted without an injury.''

A sergeant at the Manchester Police Department in New Hampshire said he had no details on the incident, and he referred all questions to Lt. Maureen Tessier, who was not scheduled to be back in the office until Tuesday.